Why lead off third base in foul territory? Every step counts!

Baseball coaches are always preaching that there are two ways to score from second and nine ways to score from third. The nine ways include: base hit, flyball, groundball, steal, balk, wild pitch, passed ball, squeeze, and error.

The message is plain. Make sure your runners take an aggressive lead off third base. What isn't so plain is why coaches teach their players to lead off third in foul territory.

The reason everyone gives, of course, is to avoid being hit by a batted ball in fair territory--an automatic out. Makes sense, right?

My answer is no. In my 19 years of coaching on the high school and college levels, I never saw a runner hit by a batted ball in fair territory.

Keep a record of the number of times you see a groundball hit directly at a runner leading off third base. You'll be astonished at how rarely it happens.

That is why I prefer my runners to lead off third base in fair territory.

The advantages far outweigh the perceived risk. We have our runner lead off with his shoulders facing the pitcher: step off with the right foot, slide the left foot over, and then take another step with the right foot--putting you in a maximum balanced position.

This represents the primary lead. As the pitcher goes into his stretch, the runner moves into his secondary lead--a controlled walking lead with the shoulders facing the plate and the weight over his right foot--in position to dash to the plate on a passed ball, wild pitch, ground ball, etc.

The chance of being hit by a batted ball is there, but it is minimized by having the runner focus on the ball as it enters the contact zone. This will enable him to react quickly on a wild pitch or a mishandling of the pitch by the catcher. It will also ensure a quick jump on a ground ball.

If the pitch simply goes through to the catcher, the runner must pivot on his right foot and run back to the bag on line with the third baseman's glove, blocking the fielder's view of the catcher's throw.

How really safe is the runner out there in fair territory about 10 feet down the line? Just as safe as the batter is up at the plate!

Let's check the mathematical evidence:

A 90 mph pitch will give a hitter 0.45 seconds to react to the ball. If the pitch is hit back toward the runner 80 feet from the plate, the runner will have 0.48 seconds to react to it.

It is assumed that the planes of the two balls will be identical and that the ball will be hit perfectly on the sweet spot.

A ball traveling 90 mph (1.47 feet per second) will reach home plate (60 ft., 6 in.) in 0.45 seconds.

Because of the momentum and force applied by the bat in contacting the ball on the sweet spot, a line drive will increase the speed to 110 mph.

Whenever a baseball is traveling 110 mph (1.47 feet per second), it will take 0.48 seconds to reach a base-runner 10 feet down the line (from third).

Thus, a ball leaving the pitcher's hand at 90 mph will arrive at a batter (60 ft., 6 in. away) at virtually the same time (0.45) that a line drive off the bat will arrive at a base runner 10 feet off third base (assuming the planes are identical).

One factor is critical to understand. The plane of the ball leaving the pitcher's hand possesses small variability. But the plane of the ball off the bat will produce greater variability--i.e., straight out (line drive), down (groundball), or up (flyball).

The probability of a ball coming off the bat on the same plane that it left the pitcher's hand is very small.

The key when leading off third base is: Watch the pitch into the contact zone and then watch it come off the bat.

So why are coaches still teaching their runners to lead off third base in foul territory?

RELATED ARTICLE: ADVANTAGES OF LEADING OFF THIRD BASE IN FAIR TERRITORY:

1 Decreases the strides to home plate on a passed ball, wild pitch, groundball, error, squeeze, and steal.

2 Puts the runner in a much better position to avoid a pick-off, especially on throws by the catcher. The ball may even carom off the runner's back and end up in the outfield.

BY AL FIGONE, PH.D.

Humboldt State U., Arcata, CA

Al Figone, professor emeritus at Humboldt State University (CA), is the author of Teaching the Mental Aspects of Baseball, A Coaches Handbook, and wishes to thank Dr. Richard A. Stull, professor of biomechanics at Humboldt State, for his assistance in the preparation of this article.